David Gray doesn’t have any hair left to pull out. And the way this season has gone for him so far – maybe that’s a blessing in disguise.
The Hibs boss cuts a frustrated figure and no wonder. Just a few months into his first managerial gig, he’s already fighting fire. Bottom of the Scottish Premiership after eight games wasn’t what he envisaged when he took the job at Easter Road in the summer. But because of that, the rookie gaffer finds himself under serious pressure.
Despite his legendary status on Leith, some fans are already questioning his appointment. He’s got Malky Mackay upstairs to help him but Gray’s inexperience is now being used as a stick to beat him with. And the pain levels will go up a notch if he doesn’t get a victory in the Edinburgh derby against Hearts today. Gray has dealt with pressure before as a player. But as a manager, with so much weighing on your shoulders, it’s a different ball game altogether.
So how does he cope with it? As you’d expect, family time helps to release the valve. Although when Gray gets home these days, even his six-year-old daughter Ada seems to be unwittingly putting him under the microscope.
Ahead of the critical clash with the Jambos at Easter Road, the Hibees boss said: “Do I go home sometimes and want to scream? Of course I do. You get frustrated all the time.
“I’ve got three young children. I get frustrated with them and they get frustrated with me at times when I’m on the computer. The best person to ask is probably my wife, to see how I deal with it.
“Am I more quiet? Am I more crabbit? I don’t know if that’s possible right now. But during times of adversity, that’s when you really start to learn about yourself.
“I’m trying to stay as measured as I possibly can because I DO believe in what we’re doing here. That’s the challenge I face at the moment.
“I’m not the type who can just shrug off the pressure when I leave my work. Do I get time to switch off? Well, I’ve got three kids. My youngest, Ada, isn’t interested in football.
“She’s six and thinks she understands it but she doesn’t really. When I go home, she’ll say to me: ‘Why did you not win today’? And that’s it.
“My other two are a bit different. My son is football daft and comes to all the games. He loves it but probably doesn’t quite understand the magnitude of it at the moment or why people are shouting at me.
“My other daughter likes her football too but Ada doesn’t. She quickly brings me back down to earth when I just have to be Dad.
“As soon as I get in, she just gets the Barbies out. That makes me realise exactly what my job is and that’s to provide for them and do everything I can to protect them.”
Gray isn’t daft. Rookie boss or not, he knows that results must change quickly for him to stay in the job. To his credit, he isn’t trying to brainwash anyone. And he doesn’t expect to get an easier ride because it’s his first job.
He uses sporting director Mackay as a sounding board but is well aware that only he can change the narrative at Hibs right now. The 36-year-old said: “I’ve dealt with pressure as a player and as captain here, during difficult times.
“So that gave me an idea of what to expect. But I try not to overthink it. I appreciate that everyone has an opinion in this sport and rightly so. That’s fine.
“I’m in the public eye so I’ll always be under scrutiny. I can’t defend where we are in the league. So I’m not going to sit here and look for excuses.
“I understand exactly where we are. I’m not on social media so I don’t really listen to the noise on the outside. And I always back myself. I’ve been at the club for 10 years so I know the place.
“But I’ve not been in this job for 10 years. I’m a new manager, with a new staff and a new group of players. I’ve had eight games so far. But it’s not as if I’ll get any leeway because I’ve been at Hibs for such a long period.
“I understand what comes with the job. But I was given it because the club felt I was the right person to take it forward. So, for that reason, I’m not doubting myself.
“I need to stick with what I believe in. Malky is here who has lived it and breathed it recently. It’s not as if it was 10 years ago he was a manager, so that definitely helps.
“We have a debrief after every game and he’s a great sounding board for me. Whenever I need him, he’ll be there for me and that was a massive appeal in me taking the job. Everyone at the club is working hard to change things. But I believe we’ll get it right – I’m sure we will.”
Whatever happens to Gray and Hibs this season, it’ll have been a steep managerial learning curve for the former full-back. And whether he’s still at Easter Road or not come next May, he’s convinced that he’ll be a better gaffer for the experience – good or bad.
He said: “It will make me a better manager, 100 percent. Now, I’d rather it was the other way around and everything was plain sailing because we were winning every week. But I definitely believe this will make me better in the long term.
“And it will make the players better too. I don’t doubt what I’m doing here. But I’m also not deluded in thinking it will turn just because we hope it will turn. We need to do everything we possibly can to change it.”